Fence-gate



J. ALLEN.

FENCE GATE.

(No Model.)

No. 531,760. Patented Jan. 1, 1895,

g/lzlat UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

JOHN ALLEN, OF BOULDER, COLORADO.

FENCE-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,760, dated January1, 1895.

Application filed January 29, 1894:- Serial No. 498,309. (No model.)

To all whom it 12mg concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ALLEN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Boulder, in the county of Boulder and State ofColorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFence-Gates; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figuresof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of fence.

swinging gates arranged to be operated from vehicles approaching fromeither side, and the objects of my invention are, firsnto provide a gatesimple in construction and durable and efficient-in use; second,toprovide a gate of minimum cost and one that can be easily operatedfrom either approach and from carriages and from the top of loadedwagons. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated anddescribed in the accompanying drawings and specification, in whichFigure 1 is a perspective view of my improved fence gate. Fig. 2represents a fragment of the gate showing a modification of the pivotingmechanism. Fig. 3 represents a fragment of the latch showing amodification of its end. Fig. it represents a fragment of the gateshowinga method of counterbalancing the gate. Fig. 5 represents also afragment showing in plan a view of the swinging rope-guide. Fig. 6 is asection through the lower shaft box J. Fig. 7 is a section of a modifiedform of the gate and brace rails.

Similar letters and numerals ofreference refer to similar partsthroughout the several views.

Referring to Fig. 1, A, B, O, D, E, F, G, H, and H designate the frameof my improved gate, although I do not confine myself to the exactdetail construction here shown. The spaces or panels between the railsand braces can be filled with barbed wire or wire netting or slats, orboards, as a farmer prefers. Barbed wire would offer the leastresistance to the wind and would answer every purpose. I carry the railB,'and also the top rail 0 beyond the end of the gate to form thebearings for the pivoting shaft I. Around the end of the lower rail B. Isecure a metal box J. to prevent the rails splitting, and also to make asuitable bearing for the gate. This box J, rests on the top of the castplate K. which is secured to the top of the post L. Through the top railO. and through the lower railB. and through said box and plate I pass avertical shaft I. which is the pivot on which the gate swings. Thisshaft may be made of wood, and if so should be 3. turned part of thepost extending through said box or it may be of metal and should havestrength enough to support the gate without supports. XVI-ought irontubing would answer the purpose very well, and if used should be letinto the post far enough to make it perfectly rigid. The top of thisshaft may however, be supported if necessary by braces extending from itto the posts M. and N.

In Fig. l I show but one brace M to avoid confusion. The road-way inthis view runs in the direction of the arrows O. and P. and the fence Q.at right angles to them in the direction of the arrow B. Fig. 1consequently showsthe gate open, it having been opened from the arrow P,side.

S, is the main fence post and when the gate is shut it extends from theshaft I. to

this post, the fragmentary portions in dotted lines showing itsposition.

The top rail 0. extends several feet rearward of the gate, and on theunder side of it I pivot a swinging angle lever T. At the end of thearms T and T I make loops for the operating ropes U. and U to passthrough. These ropes also pass through the rail 0. and through the latchV. at V Back of this lever T.I secure astop block T which operates toprevent the lever from swinging too far toward the head of the gate ineither direction, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5 which is a bottom planview of the rail and lever. This latch is held in place by the shaft I.which passes through it, and also by the guide clip X. which is securedto the top rail O. and by the yoke V which is attached to the front ofthe gate. of the gate and a short distance rearward of it. The front endlodges in the catches W. which are preferably of metal, and'are securedone to each of the posts M, N, and S.

The latch extends the whole length These catches are provided withinclined edges W which lie in the path of the latch as it swings aroundwith the gate and guide it to the recesses 7 of the catches. The latchis 5 fulcrumed at or near the shaft I. by a projection V on which itrocks vertically; enough to allow the locking end to rise out of thecatches WV. when the rearward end is drawn down as will be hereinafterexplained. Near the head of the gate I pivot to the top rail 0. arock-arm Y. which is provided with a weighted crank-arm Y a part ofwhich extends under the latch. I also attach a stop Y to the rail forthe arm to move against when drawn back by the ropes U. and U. Theseropes I attach to it and carry them. through the opening V in the latch;also through the end of the top rail, and one through the arm T and theother through the arm T of the swinging angle lever. From this lever theropes run in oppositedirections to the posts N. and M. The ropes passthrough these posts or through cleats attached to them to the top of theposts 1 and 2, which should be high enough to enable a driveron a loadof hay or straw to reach them.

In Fig. 2 I show in a fragmentary view a modification of the pivotingmechanism, which is preferable for heavy gates to that shown in Fig. 1.3 designates a post,4and 5 are metal castings bolted to it. I alsosecure a box 6, to the top of the rail 0. similar to the box J. of thelower rail. The shaft I. passes through these castings and is secured inver- 5' tical position by a pin 7, or other convenient means. Fig. 6shows a section through the box J. and rail B.

In Fig. 4 I show the top rail 0. extended beyond the latch V. andprovided with a box V which may be weighted with stone to counterbalancethe weight of the gate, which is sometimes necessary with very longgates. This box may be made by nailing a board on each side of the rail0. allowing them to extend 5 above the rail. The intervening space canthen be filled with rock. This box serves a double purpose. If properlyweighted, it connterbalances the gate, and it also forms a surfaceagainst which the wind strikes, and

thus greatly assists in manipulating the gate by counteracting the windpressure on the gate proper.

In Fig. 3 I show a modification of the end of the latch V. For smallgates a plain, square 5 5 end is sufficient,but for very large, longgates, itis sometimes difficult to raise the latch when the wind isblowing strongly against it on account of the friction caused by lateralpressure. To overcome this I cut away the latch on each side and hang ina metal clasp 8. which I secure to the top of the latch two rollers 9and 10 as shown. \Vhen the latch is raised they roll against the sidesof the catches W. thereby making it easy to raise the latch againstlateral pressure.

In Fig. 7 I show a modification of the gate rails and braces which willdiminish the wind pressure. This form is in cross section a diamond andcan be used to advantage in localities where the wind is troublesome. N.and M. as before stated are posts located on the side of the road-way towhich the gate looks when it is opened in either direction from the postS. 1 and 2 are high supports for the ropes U. and U which pass throughclips U and U attached to their tops. The ropes should be so arrangedthat they can be easily reached from a vehicle in the roadway. The gateis shown open. To close it, the rope U. must be pulled. This swings therock-arm Y. against the stop, Y, and raises the latch V. out of thecatch W. on post N. The angle lever T holds the rope far enough awayfrom the gate to give it a good leverage on the end of the gate, and asthe rope is pulled the gate is swung around in the direction of thearrow 12 to the post S. As the gate is about to close the rope should beslackened, which allows the rockarm to fall back out of the way of thelatch, which will then rest on the top of the rail 0. until it strikesthe inclined surface of the catch W. on the post S. It is lifted by thisincline and drops into the recess W of the catch, thereby closing andlocking the gate, as shown by the dotted lines. If the gate is to beopened to- 5 ward the post M. the same rope must be pulled. The anglelever T. would occupy the position shown by the dotted line fragment TThe rail (lwould stand where the angle arm T of the lever T. now standsin the drawings, and as the lever swings independent of the rail 0. thepull of the rope would be directly on the end of the said rail. Theangle lever is only useful to start the gate, to close it from the postsN. and M. The arm T of this lever lies under the rail when the gate isopen, but as the gate swings from the post S.

to the post M., the arm is swung around by the rope against the stop '1and occupies the position occupied in Fig. 1 by the arm T In Fig. 5, Ishow in dotted lines, a position frequently occupied by this lever, toillustrate the angle the rope forms when the lever is in this position.If the rope U is tightened, it draws on the end of the angle arm Tcausn5 ing it to swing against the stop T as shown in full lines. If thegate is opened to the post M. this lever operates the same way, butthrough the medium of the arm T and the rope U to close it.

In Fig. 2, I show a modified arrangement of the rope which I sometimesuse in connection with the modification shown in Fig. 2 which dispenseswith the lever T. and while it does not give as much leverage as thelever, I 2 5 answers the purpose nicely, and cheapens the cost of thegate, which is a matter of importance.v Instead of the lever T. andblock T I suspend from the rail a block or arm or projection 13, as inFig. 2 and pass through it and the rail and latch the ropes, or Imayprefer to give the end of the rail a downward turn, the object being tobring the ropes below the top of the post 3. The ropes U. and

U are carried around the post by the sweep of the rail and latch as thegate swings from S. to l". or from S. to M., that is when the gateswings from S. to N. the rope U. is carried around or by the post 3, andwhen the gate latches in the post N. the rope lies against the post asshown in the fragmentary view Fig. 5 in which the ropes are shown bothways; that is, with the lever T. and without it. Y'Vhen the lever isused the ropes can bear against the post or go over the top of it; it isimmaterial which. It would be the same with the rope U, if the gateswung from S. to .M. The rope would lie against the post as the weightsU and U on the ends of the ropes would keep them taut. Consequently thepost holds the ropes far enough from the gate when opened in eitherdirection to give leverage enough to start it in closing.

Another modification which I wish to adopt inshort gates is to stop therope at the end V of the latch, doing away with the rock arm which isonly necessary on long gates.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a pivotal shaft and a gate pivoted to said shaftof a latch fulcrurned at or near said pivotal shaft, and extending alongthe gate to the post catch and also to rearward of the gate, guidessecured to the top of said gate adapted to hold the latch parallel withsaid gate, and ropes attached to said latch and arranged on each side ofthe road-way to raise said latch and unlock the gate, and to swing thegate on the pivotal shaft, as specified.

2. The combination with a vertical, pivotal shaft, of a gate pivoted tosaid shaft having its lower and top rail extended rearward of the gate,and provided with metal clamps forming bearings for the said shaft thelower box or clam p being pivoted on a plate secured to a post; an anglelever pivoted to the extension of the gate top; a stop secured to thesaid extension adapted to prevent the arm of said angle lever fromswinging too far forward; cord guides at the ends of said lever; a latchfulcrnmed to said shaft and to said gate, extending the length of saidgate and to rearward of it, and having a cord passage in said rearwardend; a rock-shaft provided with a crank arm pivoted to the gate andarranged to lift the forward end of said latch; posts located andarranged to receive and hold the gate when it is swung open or closed;and cords attached to said crank arm and guided to suitable posts orsupports in the road-way on each side of the gate; the combinationoperating to raise the latch free from the catches on the said posts andto swing the gate to open or close it, as specified.

3. The combination with posts by the road way, one of which has avertical shaft pivoted in bearings secured to it; additional postsarranged to receive the gate, and means for securing the latch of saidgate to the said posts when closed or open, of a gate pivoted to swingon said pivotal shaft; a rearward extension on said gate; a two-armedangle lever pivotally attached to said extension; a stop-block attachedto said extension and arranged to confine the movement of said lever; alatch fulcrumed to said shaft and gate and extending rearward; two cordsattached to said latch, and guided through said gate extension, andthrough the guides in said angle lever in opposite directions tosuitable supports on the road-way, for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of a vertical shaft I. pivoted to a post; with a gatepivoted to said shaft; a rearward extension 0. on said gate providedwith a cord-guide in its end; a twoarmed angle lever T. pivoted to saidextension and also provided with cord-guides at the end of each arm; astop T attached to said extension adapted to stop said arms at rightangles thereto; a latch V. fulcrumed to the gate and to said shaft; arock-arm Y; a stop Y"; rollers 9 and 10 journaled in the end of thelatch and adapted to overcome the friction caused by side pressure; theposts N. M. and 8.; the catches W. attached thereto; and the cordsattached to said rock arm and guided through the latch, gate extensionangle lever, and posts to the standards 1 and .2, as herein specified.

5. In a gate a latch cut away at the end and sides for the reception ofthe rollers 9 and 10 and a saddle or clasp 8 attached to said latchadapted to support said rollers, as set forth.

6. The combination with a vertical shaft attached to a post, of a gatepivoted to said shaft, a rearward extension to said gate provided with afree passage for the operating ropes; alatch fulcru med to said gate andshaft and connected to said operating ropes, and means for holding saidoperating ropes away from said post as the gate swings open in eitherdirection, as herein specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ALLEN.

Vitnesses:

NATHANIEL H. MoGALL, ROBERT MAY.

